Newburgh developer seeks to add housing to stalled retail project

Leonard Sparks Times Herald-Record @LeonSparks845

Tuesday

May 17, 2016 at 2:11 PMMay 17, 2016 at 4:41 PM

TOWN OF NEWBURGH – The developers behind the stalled LOOP retail development on Route 300 are asking the Town of Newburgh’s council to amend zoning to allow homes to be built on the property as part of a scaled-down project for which it is still pursuing financing.

On Monday, John Bainlardi, a vice president of Wilder Balter Partners Inc., lobbied for a change allowing up to 300 multi-family dwellings and townhouses in the town’s Interchange Business district, restricting residences to sites adjacent to shopping centers of at least 250,000 square feet.

With Wilder Balter now pursuing financing for 450,000 square feet of retail instead of its initial 700,000, the zoning change would allow the developer to rend “value” from the unused part of the 130-acre property, Bainlardi said.

On the nonretail portion, the company is considering apartments and maybe a hotel, he said.

“We need the opportunity to try to create some additional value on the property to make this entire property work,” Bainlardi said.

Since its original partner backed out, Wilder Balter has struggled to find financing for its initial proposal: a $150 million retail and entertainment complex anchored by big-box retailers like BJs Wholesale Club, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream.

Plans called for the Town of Newburgh’s ShopRite to relocate from Route 32 and for spaces to be occupied by about 10 restaurants and a multi-screen movie theater.

Amid ongoing concerns over the economy and turmoil in the retail industry, potential investors have repeatedly told Wilder Balter that Newburgh’s market cannot support the project as originally proposed, Bainlardi said.

“The feedback we were getting was if the project was smaller, both in the size of the project and in the total dollars that would be necessary to bring the project to fruition, that would be more palatable in the capital markets,” he said.

Wilder Balter has retained commitments from companies like BJs, Dick’s and ShopRite, but has started to amend leases to reflect a delayed construction timeline, Bainlardi said. If the developer finds financing, it hopes to start on the retail development in 2017 or 2018, he said.

Newburgh’s Town Board agreed on Monday to refer the rezoning request to the town Planning Board and Orange County’s Department of Planning for discussion. Approving the request will require overcoming some concerns and skepticism.

Councilman Paul Ruggiero said he was concerned about allowing apartments in the district envisioned as a hub for commerce.

“I know the people in the Town of Newburgh would not want (300) apartments stuck in a commercial area,” he said. “That was really made to be stores.”

[View the story "Timeline: Looking back at the Loop/Marketplace" on Storify]

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